Sri Lanka to slap 2 year ban on three Indian drug importing companies

Monday, November 9, 2009, 20:11 This news item was posted in Industry category and has 0 Comments so far.

Three Indian firms Belco Pharma, Umedica Laboratories and and Kilitch Drugs India Ltd are likely to be banned from importing drugs in Sri Lanka for two years for supplying drugs which are substandard in quality, reports said quoting Island daily of Sri Lanka.
Belco Pharma supplies pethidine, U-Medical Laboratories hydrocortizone sodium succinate and and Kilitch Drugs India Ltd cerfuroxine to the Sri Lankan market.

The Sri Lankan government appointed 10-member committee has recommended ban for two years on three of the five companies listed for probe.

Vins Biotech of Hyderabad, which one among those being investigated for circulating substandard medicines, has been let off after it was found that the snake venom serum it had supplied to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital had lost colour because it had not been kept at the appropriate temperature at the hospital.

Two drug importing companies have agreed to refund the money to the government to cover the huge loss incurred by the Health Ministry.

Vins Biotech had agreed to send a new batch free of cost to Sri Lanka.

The blacklisted companies –Belco Pharma, Umedica Laboratories and and Kilitch Drugs –would have to submit a certification of Basic Medical Practices (BMP) within two years if they wanted to restart business again in Sri Lanka, reports said.

The Sri Lankan government had decided to take against the Indian pharmaceutical companies which had supplied substandard drugs, some with glass or plastic pieces in them, reports said quoting health ministry officials.

The ministry has also decided to remove all the stocks of the contaminated drug vials from the hospitals.

Umedica Laboratories Ltd, Mumbai is part of a Amoli Group of Companies, manufacturing and exporting a wide range of injectables, tablets, capsules, suspensions, dry syrups in the categories of non-steriodal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs), antibiotics, antifungal, analgesics, antiviral, antituberculosis agents, antihistamines, psychotropics and multivitamins etc.

Umedica’s manufacturing facilities, located in Vapi, Gujarat.Umedica is a government recognized export house, with exports to over 35 countries, and has won the ‘Chemexcil Top Export Award’ for performance in exports.

Based in New Delhi, northern India Belco Pharma is a WHO certified pharmaceutical company engaged in the manufacture and sale of generic and proprietary pharmaceutical products. Belco Pharma is a generic pharmaceutical company manufacturing human Pharmaceuticals and animal health products. Belco offers, wide range of more than two hundred plus prescriptions and OTC formulations in pharmaceutical dosage forms, like capsules, tablets, ointments, liquid orals, powders and small volume parenteral preparations.

Hyderabad, south India based Vins Bioproducts Limited commenced work to develop AntiSnake Venom Serum (ASVS), which was launched in early 2000. Vins’ ASVS is available in the ready to inject liquid form and the lyophilized form, which is easy to handle, transport and store. The product enjoys a market share of almost 40% of the Indian ASVS market. Vins also develop of Anti Rabies Serum (ARS).Vins also produces as anti sera anti toxins for tentanus, diphtheria etc.